The Stake.

16

It was ten in the morning and Rehaan Kazmi had been sitting next to his wife's bed in the hospital room waiting for her to open her eyes since the entire night. He knew it would take time for her to gain consciousness again due to anesthesia and blood loss but nothing else mattered to him more than hearing her voice.

Thirty to forty minutes later Shahwar slightly moved her eyelids and Rehaan instantly moved to hold her hand. It was a desperate call. She had saved his life and risked hers without even thinking once. Ironically he would have never let her do it if time could go back in reverse. All those hours after the accident till now the only thing he could think of was why couldn't it have been him instead of his fragile innocent wife whose body was a miniature of any woman her age.

The day she'd gotten that job, he'd never felt more proud of anyone in his life the way he had of her that day. It had barely been three days into the foreign country where people were known to be the rudest on the planet and she had managed to get a job for herself. Not many women were capable of doing so and he knew it very well. His wife was no ordinary woman, she could be almost everything anyone wanted in a woman to be. He'd done a background check on the place where she was working before she started the next day and it was only after not finding anything dirty or shady about the owner and the area he'd felt satisfied.

Her beauty was not something she ever flaunted, she was effortlessly gorgeous, if she'd walk into a room it could be proven by just letting her stand there for a few seconds. And now she was on the hospital bed with thin tubes inserted into her body which was bandaged and bruised.

"I was supposed to get my pay today." Shahwar spoke the moment her eyes opened in a soft shaky voice.

Rehaan frowned and bent forward to her then rested his head on her chest, "Don't you ever do that again what you did last night. Jab tum ghar nahi ayi kal raat you've no idea what it did to me." He just wanted to close his eyes now, it felt too peaceful.

(When you didn't come home last night,)

"Ab mere paisay aur naukri dono gaye." She complained ignoring him in her mushy voice.

(Now my money and job both are gone.)

"Kisi ki itni himmat nahi ke Rehaan Kazmi ki biwi ko naukri se nikalay." He continued speaking laying his head on her.

(No one has the guts to fire Rehaan Kazmi's wife.)

"It's funny that I still survived—"

"Shahwar." His tone changed immediately in a warning.

"You will call me Dur e Shahwar. I let people call me Shahwar only if I love them." She curved her lips into a small circle.

Rehaan closed his eyes, "As you wish Shahwar."

Her nose flared up at his response but the heavy inhale made her belly pressured and she felt the pain there which made her leave a low grunt.

Rehaan lifted his head immediately, "What happened?" Worry was evident in his voice.

"Nothing."

"No, tell me." He held her hand softly.

"No it's nothing." She tried to smile.

"Does it hurt?" He knew she wouldn't say it herself.

She pressed her lips together and only very slightly moved her head to a nod.

"Give me a minute." He stood up in haste walked out telling Ibaad to send the doctor to the room at once.

When the doctor came Rehaan kept on passing him death glances while he examined Dur e Shahwar. "Pourquoi a-t-elle encore mal alors que vous avez suivi le traitement?" He snapped at the man as he soon as he stood straight after taking a look at her wounds.

(Why is she still hurting when you have done the treatment?)

"Il faut être patient monsieur Kazmi. Ces blessures mettront du temps à guérir. Peu importe le nombre de médicaments utilisés actuellement, il est trop tôt pour espérer un rétablissement complet." The doctor could sense how frustrated Rehaan was but he remained calm.

(You have to be patient mister Kazmi. These wounds will take a while to heal. No matter how many medications are used right now, it is too early to expect complete recovery.)

Rehaan knew, knew it too well that it wasn't logical to react the way he was but it was beyond his control at the moment. His usual composed demeanor had vanished and he didn't know how to remain the same way now.

"Bien." He gave a subtle nod to the doctor taking a deep breath to bear with it all.

(Alright.)

The doctor left and sent the nurses to monitor the vitals and dosages of the medicines.

Rehaan kept on looking at Shahwar feeling agitated now. "You want to rest?" She asked him when he didn't sit and stood where he was.

"No."

"I'm okay now. You can rest."

"No."

"You don't look very handsome when you're tired." Shahwar suppressed a smile. She knew he always looked handsome. Even now. Her husband had the lethal combination of breathtaking facial features and a heartbreakingly strong body built. And he was so tall on top of it all. She'd never seen or met a man like him in her entire life. Even when she was in Spain, none of the boys around her had the aura even slightly close to the Rehaan Kazmi. Ammi ji had been right when she'd mentioned it.

"I'll live." He looked into her eyes now.

"When will we go?" A question that Shahwar would for sure ask knowing very well that it was too soon to even mention it.

"Tomorrow or maybe day after tomorrow." He paused, "Depends on your condition."

"But I want to go from here now." She hated hospitals. It made her feel so down.

"Sorry we don't have any other options for our destinations to choose right now because someone decided to be a hero last night." He was always ready for sarcasm.

"Rehaan, did you get hurt when I pushed you?" Her big eyes blinked at the memory.

"Yes, I was very hurt when you pushed me and took the hit instead of me, my dear wife." His tone became a taunt. "Why are you so hell bent on making me a widower so soon?"

"Maybe it will suit your rukhi sukhi personality more. I'm only trying to help." She pursed her lips with a small giggle.

"I'll teach all about helping very soon Mrs Kazmi. Just wait for it." Then he smiled at her making her heart jump a little.

Kazmi and Shahwar.🤍